This invention relates to decorative moldings for covering the outside walls of residential or commercial structures, and more particularly to a decorative corner block molding for decoratively covering an exterior corner of a residential or commercial structure.
Molding assemblies are used in a variety of applications to cover the exterior walls of a building structure to provide a decorative, aesthetically appealing building exterior. In recent years, these exterior building coverings have transitioned from materials such as wood and aluminum to being manufactured from plastics such as high-density polyurethane or vinyl. In general, plastics provide significant advantages over previous materials. For example, exterior molding and siding components manufactured from plastic are low in maintenance when compared with natural wood molding and siding. Plastic exterior molding and siding is not susceptible to moisture and therefore will not decay, warp, or splinter like natural wood. Additionally, exterior components made of thin gage aluminum, while not susceptible to moisture and decay, are susceptible to permanent deformation when accidentally struck by objects through the lifetime of the building, or could be extensively damaged during a major catastrophe such as a hailstorm. Advantageously, plastic exterior components can be sawed, drilled, glued or nailed just like natural wood. Still further, during the manufacture of plastic siding components, plastic can be tinted with dyes or other materials to provide siding components that are of desired colors, thus obviating the need for painting prior to or subsequent to installation on a structure.
Prior developed siding systems generally incorporate a corner molding that is attachable to the corner of the building structure wherein the molding includes a laterally facing channel to receive one end of the siding that is being terminated at the corner of the structure. Additionally, the siding systems employ J-channels at areas such as the sides of windows where only the siding from one surface of the building exterior is to be terminated. Thus, a typical siding system incorporates lengths of siding elements that can be cut to a desired length and wherein the cut ends are covered by a combination of exterior corners, interior corners, or J-channels to provide a more aesthetic appearance and to prevent elements of nature from intruding into exposed spaces at the cut ends of the siding elements.
Builders and building owners often desire to include a variety of decorative trim and moldings on a building to improve its aesthetic value. These extra decorative elements often include door surrounds, window frames, and headers for windows and doors. One feature found on many homes constructed of brick and stone is the use of square stones or bricks at the corners of the buildings to aesthetically enhance the building""s appearance. However, the installation of actual or synthetic stone at the corners of the structure can be cost prohibitive or excessively time consuming on structures that utilize plastic siding systems as discussed above. Thus, it would be advantageous to have a corner block system for attachment to a building exterior corners that is also molded from plastic and incorporating features thereon to make the installation relatively fast and simple while at the same time incorporating features to utilize and interface with existing elements of known plastic molding and siding systems.
One aspect of the present invention is a corner block system for covering exterior corners of intersecting building walls. The corner block system includes an elongated, vertically oriented bracket for attachment to each of the intersecting building walls. A plurality of mortar joints have at least two legs arranged in a predefined angular relationship, wherein each leg has a rear attachment flange for abutting one of the intersecting walls and a front cap spaced from the attachment flange. A plurality of corner blocks have at least two faces arranged in a like predefined angular relationship and are joined along adjacent edges thereof. Each face has at an edge opposite from its joined edge an arm extending rearwardly therefrom. The corner blocks are vertically arranged between the vertically oriented brackets wherein each arm of the blocks retainingly engages the bracket. One of the mortar joints is interposed between adjacent ones of the corner blocks wherein a top of the bottommost of the vertically adjacent corner blocks abuts a bottom of the mortar joint front cap and a top of the mortar joint front cap abuts a bottom of a topmost of the vertically adjacent corner blocks.
Another aspect of the present invention is a corner block assembly for covering exterior corners of intersecting building walls. The corner block assembly comprises a corner block having at least two faces arranged in a predefined angular relationship and joined along adjacent edges thereof. Each face has a top flange extending rearwardly from a top edge and at an edge opposite from the joined edge an arm extending rearwardly therefrom. A mortar joint is affixed to the top flanges of the corner block. The mortar joint has at least two legs arranged in a like predefined angular relationship wherein each leg has a rear attachment flange for abutting one of the intersecting walls and a front cap spaced from the attachment flange wherein a bottom edge of the front cap abuts the top of the corner block.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is a method of installing a corner block system to an exterior corner of intersecting walls of a building wherein the corner block system includes at least two elongated brackets, a plurality of corner blocks having at least two faces arranged in a predefined angular relationship and joined along adjacent edges thereof. Each face of the corner block has a top flange extending rearwardly from a top shoulder defined by the top flange and the face, and an arm extending rearwardly from an edge of each face opposite from the joined edge and further has a protrusion on an inner surface. The system also includes a plurality of mortar joints having at least two legs arranged in a like predefined angular relationship wherein each leg has a rear attachment flange and a front cap spaced from the attachment flange by a web extending between the cap and attachment flange. The method includes the steps of attaching one of the brackets to each of the intersecting walls a predefined distance from the corner. The attachment flange of a mortar joint is abutted to the corner substantially at a bottom edge of the intersecting walls. The mortar joint is attached to the walls at the attachment flange. A corner block is then placed on the mortar joint such that the bottom shoulder of the corner block abuts a top edge of the mortar joint front cap. The arms of the corner block engage a free edge of the bracket by snapping the arm protrusions over the bracket-free edge. Mortar joints and corner blocks are alternatingly affixed to the corner of the building in a like manner until the installation reaches a top of the intersecting walls of the building.